My fight of the year goes to Roman Gonzalez Vs. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. I was fortunate enough to be sitting in Madison Square Garden watching the fight and it was all action from the first bell to the last. Skill, speed power we’re all on display by both fighters, that had the crowd going with every punch thrown. It was a fantastic fight and when the final bell rang it had many of the media guys torn on who won. For the record I had Gonzalez winning the fight when I watched it live, but when I got home and watched it again on TV I had SSR. It’s amazing how you can score a fight when you have various camera angles to help you dissect it. I was going to pick Josh Taylor Vs. Ohara Davies, but I’m very good friends with Josh and I might of been ruling with my heart rather than my head with that one. Nonetheless, if you get the chance after you’ve ate your Christmas dinner or even on… Boxing Day… I recommend you watch either fight as both are entertaining and will get you hyped up for 2018.

There’s a lot to pick from this year. 2017 has been as good a year as any for a very long time. Each time a fight came into my mind, another would irrevocably force itself to the front and make me question my previous thoughts. Do I go for a fight of explosive magnitude? A fistic encounter that beautifully showcases the sweet science? A pure ramshackle roughhouse of a fight that leaves people wincing behind their crusty DFS sofas? Badou Jack – James Degale was a great fight and rudely overlooked for its early placement in the 2017 timeline, but like GGG – Canelo the decided result spoils the succulent broth. Dominic Breazeale – Izuagbe Ugonoh, just like John Molina Jr – Ivan Redkach, was fantastic fun but lacked a certain nuance of top level skill. Josh Taylor – Ohara Davies was superb for not quite the most moral of reasons. So it has to be AJ – Klitschko right? Well, that’s the silver medal. That was an incredible fight at the top level but there was one with just a little bit more action that was a little more unexpected to some.

Roman Gonzalez – Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is my fight of the year. I don’t even want to delve into why, just watch the fight. To see the P4P number 1 (who has a case for winning the fight) pushed to such an extreme by a guy who was very churlishly overlooked due to a reasonably empty record was enthralling. As soon as Gonzalez was down in the first round, it was clear this wasn’t a routine defence. SSR is a big guy at the weight and is hard as nails; he showed it was no fluke in the rematch. But the action, the pride, the heart and more importantly the boxing that was on display was both beautiful and ugly. This duplicitous whirlpool of carnage and technique was something that will be looked back upon in years to come. Simply put: what a f**king fight!

This year has been a good one for boxing fans; 2017 was full of super fights and hosted a whole slew of fight of the year candidates. It was difficult to chose, but for me, I’m with the majority and the 2017 Fight of the Year was Anthony Joshua’s 11th round stoppage over Wladamir Klitschko. The fight was seemingly a passing of the torch fight and one which propelled Joshua to become the new heavy weight kingpin. Prior to the fight, everyone wondered what Klitschko had left, and if he was a shell of himself. But in the fight Klitschko came out with something to prove. The fight started slow, but all it took was the knockdown of Klitschko in the fifth to awaken the hungry veteran. When he rose from the canvas Klitschko came back swinging, sending Joshua to the canvas in the following round. Klitschko began to dominate and looked like he was too much for the younger Anthony Joshua… until the 11th when a beautiful and brutal uppercut sent Klitschko to the canvas and into his retirement. It was a back and forth fight with tremendous hype, a tremendous crowd and it exceeded exceptions, that’s why the 2017 FOTY was Anthony Joshua’s victory over Wladamir Klitschko.